Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Five-Year Agreement with Maverick Networks Inc. for (1) Telephone Hardware and Implementation Services and (2) a Cloud-Based (Zoom) Unified Communications Telephone System for a Total Compensation Not to Exceed $569,618. (Information Technology C80500)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Gerry Beaudin, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Alameda’s (City) telephone system no longer meets the needs of a modern, mobile workforce. Over several months, the Information Technology (IT) Department worked directly with staff across six City departments to: document how each team currently communicates; identify gaps such as limited mobile access, after-hours coverage, and reporting; and build internal consensus on the features a replacement system must deliver. Using those documented requirements, staff ran a competitive process and solicited proposals from three qualified cloud communications providers. Zoom, delivered through Maverick Networks Inc., was selected as the best overall fit for cost-savings, functionality, and long-term flexibility. Both the software and hardware components of this project are available through competitively awarded cooperative purchasing contracts, which satisfy the City’s procurement requirements without the need for a separate formal solicitation.
BACKGROUND
The City’s current telephone system is aging and increasingly limits how departments can serve the public. Staff cannot work from the field or other remote locations with easy access to office telephone systems. Several departments rely on personal cell phones to cover after-hours calls. The current system offers little to no reporting on call volume or staff workload. In addition to these issues, departments have identified a growing need for text messaging, multilingual call routing, and better integration with the tools staff already use, such as Microsoft Teams. These limitati...
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